Guitar Hero is one of the biggest franchises in the videogame world at the moment. Whatever they do has a huge impact on the music industry, music listeners, and music teachers. That’s a lot of power for a videogame to wield.
Guitar Hero 2 turned me onto a band called Bang Camaro, they had one song in the game, an unlocakble called (Push Push) Lady Lightning. When I went to download that track on iTunes it was the only one that had any kind of popularity rating, meaning others just like me were grabbing it just because they played it in a videogame.
Like I said, that’s a lot of power. Martin Bandier also has a lot of power. He runs the Sony/ATV Music owners of the John Lennon – Paul McCartney copyrights. What ever he does also has a huge influence on the music industry and music listeners, so when he said he liked the idea of a dedicated Beatles version of Guitar Hero people listened.
I’m sure Activision is eager to get this deal done. A Beatles followup to Guitar Hero Aerosmith would be huge for the franchise and it would introduce some amazing songs to people who may not listen to the Beatles. Though, putting these out on Guitar Hero seems like a strange fit, no?
It seems that the Beatles would have a better fit on Rock Band. I’m all in favor of a dedicated Beatles videogame but I’m not sure if the guitar parts in their songs are crazy enough to warrant them being guitar heroes. Rock Band emphasizes working together, coming together if you will, with different difficulties of play. Guitar Hero tries to fit as many colored dots on the screen as possible and make you move your hand at uncanny speeds. The Beatles don’t exactly shred.
As always the all mighty dollar will decide where the Beatles will land. Guitar Hero, Rock Band, either one is good for the Beatles, good for the music industry and good for gamers. You Rock!
[via LA Times]
